Peanut Butter, Jam, & Banana Soft Serve Popsicles + Blog News

July 25, 2012Angela (Oh She Glows)

by Angela (Oh She Glows) on July 25, 2012

Last weekend, as I was making banana soft serve, the idea struck me to use it as a base for a popsicle. Instead of a typical icy, fruit-based popsicle, I wanted a popsicle with an ice-cream like taste and texture. A bit similar to these fruity popsicles, but more ice cream like. I figured banana soft serve could do the trick while being less costly than all-natural popsicles from the grocery store.

And, tell me, what goes better with banana than peanut butter and jam?

A little planning ahead will do you well with this recipe because you’ll need 4 peeled and frozen bananas to kick things off. For some reason, I seemed to be hoarding frozen bananas in the freezer last week, so I had them ready to go! Who am I kidding, I’m always hoarding bananas. Don’t worry if the frozen bananas are covered in ice crystals; it’ll all come out in the wash.

Roughly chop the frozen bananas and whirl in the food processor along with 3-4 tbsp of almond milk. Once it starts to get creamy (you’ll have to scrape the bowl down every now and then), add 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and process until smooth.

Now we have amaaaazing peanut butter banana soft serve. You might think to yourself it doesn’t get much better than this…

Oh but it does.

Now remove the bowl from the base of the processor and stir in 3 tbsp of your favourite jam and another tablespoon of peanut butter. You want to leave it nice and chunky, with thick ribbon-like swirls throughout.

Try to stop yourself from planting your face in the bowl. It’s difficult.

Scoop into popsicle molds, sneaking spoonfuls here and there.

Now, here is the tricky part. These take a long time to freeze & set. I would say about 6-8 hours or longer. It might as well have been a week as far as my impatient self was concerned. I suggest leaving them overnight in the freezer if you can. Your sanity will thank you for it.

Don’t worry though, the clean up is fun!

Here’s the thing. These are probably the homeliest, sad lookin’ popsicles I’ve ever laid eyes on, but they are also some of the best popsicles I’ve tried. It’s like PB & J & B ice cream, without the dairy. A banana split in popsicle form.

Maybe they aren’t the best looking popsicles I’ve come across, but I can promise you won’t be able to stop at just one.

Peanut Butter, Jam, & Banana Soft Serve Popsicles

These are soft, ice cream like popsicles with swirls of PB and jam throughout. For a fun twist, try stirring in some shaved chocolate. When freezing, shaved chocolate is nice because you don’t have to bite into big frozen chocolate chips.

1. In a food processor, add 4 roughly chopped frozen bananas along with a few tablespoons of almond milk. Whirl in the processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

2. Now add in two tablespoons of peanut butter and process again until combined & smooth.

3. Remove bowl from base and stir in the jam and another tablespoon of peanut butter, leaving thick ribbons of jam and PB throughout the soft serve. Do not overmix.

4. Spoon the soft serve into popsicle molds (it made enough for 6 small popsicles for me, however this will vary based on the size of your molds). Push the mixture all the way to the bottom with the end of a spoon. Freeze for at least 6-8 hours, or overnight. Run hot water over the mold to help the popsicle slide out. I found they were a bit difficult to get out of the mold, but I’m not sure if that was due to my strange shaped popsicle mold or simply the consistency of the popsicle.

Eric and I have been working behind the scenes on some exciting blog stuff that I’m really excited to share with you! One of the changes I’m excited about is a new categorization system. My recipes will soon be completely searchable via a new menu system directly from my home page. You will be able to search easily by dietary preferences (gluten-free, soy-free, etc), season, type of dish (appetizer, entrée, dessert, etc), and much more. This is something I’ve wanted to do for years now and I hope it makes your life easier. My other blog topics, such as fitness and my various writing posts, will also be categorized in various ways so they are much easier to locate.

Needless to say, this has been a huge undertaking as it’s involved going through every single blog post over the last (almost) 4 years and re-categorizing everything with a fine tooth comb. Eric has been working his magic on a few other design related things (involving lots of coding that I know nothing about) and you will be seeing those changes soon too. I don’t know what I’d do without this guy. He’s a smart cookie! He also decided to DRAW a picture of me on the sidebar so every time I see the new homepage I die laughing. I’ll have to get a screenshot of it to show you so you know what I mean. Anyway, there won’t be any major changes right now – in fact you might not even notice some of them – but the blog will look a bit fresher and easier to navigate. That is the goal.

There are other things going on too – we’re working on an entirely new website. Unfortunately, it’s going to be a long time in the works, so more on that at a later date!

These sound amazing Ange! Even if they don’t look like the most delicious thing ever, I’m already craving a little PB&J in popsicle form!! And awesome news about the blog back-end stuff. I know Eric is a very clever guy when it comes to that so I can’t wait to see what you guys have been working on!

Wow-why haven’t we thought of this before-totally brilliant!
I also have a banana hoarding problem…I think my husband thinks I’m weird…but he’s always happy when banana bread/soft serve/etc. comes from those little guys!
Congrats on the blog news-that’s really exciting! I also don’t know what I would do without my husband-he keeps me up and running! Sounds like it was quite the job but will make things more simple for you here on out!

I’m on a push up frenzy (hence today’s “Fluffernutter Push Up” post) so these are right up my alley. It doesn’t matter what they look like, as long as they invite your tastebuds to the party of the year! :-)

Sheesh, I can’t believe I don’t even OWN popsicle molds. I think I need to do that soon because these ones are totally speaking to me!! I love the idea of this for a creamy Popsicle. I almost want to try putting puréed fresh strawberries in too. I think we both know what I need to accomplish today ;)

Love the “homely” look! I just reunited myself with BSS and I think I’ll be trying this recipe out next. I have a fun one in the works myself! Very exciting news about the blog and all of the changes you’re making. Takes so much time…kudos to you both!

Ahh, I love your website so much. I’ve been a vegetarian for almost two months. I don’t eat eggs and use only rice or almond milk. My next goal is to prepare only vegan meals at home. Your recipes are such a fantastic inspiration. I’ve already cooked a few of them! This popsicles look so yummy. I don’t have popsicle molds though, so I’ll have to figure out another way to freeze them.

Man, those popsicles sound good! I bought a popsicle mold this summer so I’m always looking for creamy popsicle recipes. That’s great news about the blog—organizational changes like that are quite an undertaking! I’m jealous you have a website helper. I have to do everything myself, which I both love and hate!

These look delicious, I have to admit even though I am in Argentina still and can’t really make the recipes I am still drooling over them daily and saving them to make when I get back! :)

Anyways I was writing because I was just wondering if you had any tips for getting the popsicles out of the holders once they are done and you want to eat them? I have tried the hot water thing with other popsicles but always end up with a 1/3 of the popsicle and bunch of melted mush by the time It comes out!

Hey Naomi, I have that problem too, especially with popsicle molds that have strange shapes like the one I have now. I run hot water over them, but yes it can take a while and it usually melts it a bit. Not a big deal in this case though as it gives it a bit more ice cream like consistency! I’ve wondered if you can spray the popsicle molds with non-stick oil spray….would that be gross? haha. Maybe someone else has tips they can give us.

Yum, sounds delicious! I wonder if you have to freeze the bananas first? That’s my impatient Taurus brain coming out.
Good on you for coming up with a recipe categorization system… I need to do that desperately and I’ve only been at it 1.5 years, I can only imagine how frustrated you are with your current setup. Can’t wait to see what you two have been up to :)

I just recently started making banana soft serve for my kids as a dessert and I know they would be all over these…..me too!!! I just need to add popsicle mold to my shopping list and we will be ready to go!!

All of the changes sound so exciting — you’re lucky to have such a tech-savvy man! And those popsicles look fantastic! I’ve been whipping up homemade popsicles all summer, but I’ve been using Greek yogourt as my base. I thought about bananas, but I wasn’t too sure if it would freeze up of not. I guess now I know and I’m pretty sure I can guess what my next popsicle combo is going to be :-)

These look awesome, and what a perfect summer snack. Now on a mission to get popsicle trays! I can imagine the new menu system takes hours and hours of work, especially since you have to go back through all of your old posts. As a new blogger, this technology stuff is so overwhelming! Glad Eric has been able to do it!

Hmm that’s a tough one! I’m really not sure. I think I heard pear (peeled I assume) can work, but I haven’t tried it myself. I can’t see it getting as creamy as a banana would. Maybe pear + a touch of avocado?

I was just thinking about something like this! I bet my boys would be all over these! With quite a few bananas in the freezer, I see a fun project in my future with them! I need to work on some blog organization too. Mine is really all over the place and that is really not helpful to me or anyone else that wants to find anything!

it’s crazy how quickly it gets out of control, right? If I were to do it all over again I would start blogging with a great category system set up. But then again when I started blogging I wouldn’t have known what categories I would need & use the most…

I think I just hit the Jackpot! I’m a huuuuge ice cream fan and I always want to find a healthy alternative. This is perfect. The rare occasion I splurge and go to Dairy Queen I always get the Banana Split Blizzard that looks identical to this. Ooo I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks so much.
Now if you could imitate the Hagen Dazz Chocolate Peanut Butter… I might be in love. lol
-Michelle

Haha! Popsicles definitely seem tough to photograph… Do you want your hand in the pic? If not, what do you set it on?… The pops look tasty, regardless of the pictures. Such a fun, easy recipe and great for kids (my daughter loves popsicles), so I’ll have to give these a try!

Yum, I can’t wait to make these as I have frozen banana in the freezer. I might not wait for the Popsicles though!

Great news on your blog. I recently signed up with recipage for my blog. Are you moving away from that? I love your blog and have made quite a few of your recipes now and loved all of them. Many thanks

“Needless to say, this has been a huge undertaking as it’s involved going through every single blog post over the last (almost) 4 years and re-categorizing everything with a fine tooth comb.” <— this explains why in the past few days, I've gotten some wordpress pings/alerts from you, any time you have linked me back over the years, as old as like 2009. Anytime I get that, I know someone is moving servers or doing something big to their site…oh fun times for you! But it will all be worth it!

And this PB&J creation, can't beat it. Love the homely/tasty little graphic you put up :) LOLing at it!

I know exactly what you mean about hoarding bananas! I HATE seeing bananas go to waste, their flavour only intensifies as they ripen, perfect in smoothies or baking (or anything really!). I go to Superstore and head straight to the reduced product section. Well once I saw not one, not two, but at least 5 bags of ORGANIC bananas 50% off. Oh my word. If only I hadn’t ridden my bike. And brought a larger bag. And had more freezer space. It was a heartbreaking moment when I accepted the fact that I could only leave with one bag of my beloved discounted bananas. And today was the same thing! Oh if only we could save all of the discounted produce in the world! But we can’t. I’ve learned that the hard way when I bought 5 gallons of organic milk which were on sale AND 50% off and now have to deal with the fact that 1.3 gallons are spoiling and I have no idea what to do with them. Farewell from your banana-hoarding partner in law!

I’ve been a long time banana soft serve skeptic, (why? Who knows, I love bananas) but decided to break out the Popsicle molds and give this one a shot. Needless to say I will never doubt you again! I made a mocha, almond butter and co-coa coconut flavored soft serve and I’m in love. Thanks!

I absolutely love the way it looks in the food processor with the jam swirled all through it! I’m not sure I could even bear to put it into the moulds without eating a big bowl first. Priorities, ya know!

I haven’t made frozen popsicles for the kids all summer…our molds have sat untouched in the cupboard for most of the summer. I think this recipe is as a good a reason to break them out as any…LOL! Plus, my kids would love these…heck, I would love these…;) I have my own stash of frozen bananas that are calling to me from the freezer now…LOL!

My family and I can’t thank you enough for creating this website! Can’t wait until your book comes out either :) These pops look delish and can’t wait to try. However, my daughter is allergic to peanut butter, maybe I’ll try with almond butter? Not sure how that will taste!

I stumbled on to your website from a google search about oatemeal recipes for people who don’t really like oatmeal! I have to say, I can’t wait to try some of your recipes! I am heavily overweight and on my own journey to health. The problem is that I have people in my household who can’t stand “healthy” food, so if I can trick them with some of your recipes, it will be the best! Thank you!

Am I the only one who didn’t get past adding the peanut butter and processing? Yup. One little taste and I was done. Blaming it on my kids who really insisted on eating it pronto. Maybe we’ll try again tomorrow… Will try to be more patient re the web changes- exciting!

Holy moly………. Is it wrong that I just want to serve that as some kind of sticky, chewy, sweet delicious pudding??? I can’t even imagine how good it tastes as a popsicle! I see a new blog post coming… 10 ridiculously delicious popsicle recipes??? (Pretty please!)

This is the most exciting recipe I saw in months! Can’t wait to buy some ingredients and try it – though in lack of posicle molds, I will probably make iced pralinés in an icecube tray. Should work too, right?

Off topic, Angela, but I just wanted to pop in to thank you again for your consistency reliable recipes; it’s so clear to me that you test, test, test before posting and your detailed descriptions, even for a fairly experienced vegan cook, are so appreciated, esp. in the case of tricky veggie/bean patties! On that note, I am thrilled to have finally learned the magical ingredients/process for making veggie patties w/the perfect stickie texture – flax, bread crumbs, rice, hand mash, tiny pieces, .25 cup seeds…

I’m so proud that I’ve now mastered numerous variations on that fantastic spicy barbecue chickpea patties recipe you posted a few weeks ago, a goal a long time in coming :)

I have made banana soft serve many times in my Vitamix blender. I always cut of the banana in chunks first, and I start at a low speed, and it works just fine. I don’t have a food processor and I don’t have any more space for appliances, so the Vitamix is often used when a food processor might be better and it usually goes well. :)

Hi Angela. I love your blog and often make your recipes! I made the rolls with lime peanut dipping sauce this week and loved them.
I look forward to your new blog set up. Any chance I will be able to find your posts about what/where you ate when you went to Paris? I am going in September and it is hard as a vegetarian to eat more than bread and cheese without some effort. In past trips I come home overloaded from too much bread and dying for some green veggies. I would greatly appreciate your tips, but can’t find the post on your site! Thank you!

Just wondering if a food processor is necessary for this recipe? I recently purchased a vitamix and juicer (Whoop! Aeroplan points!) and am hesitant to spend more on a processor! Let me know if you have any tips :)

This look so yummy! I wish I could eat bananas, but I can’t. They upset my stomach. I wonder if I could make soft serve with frozen avocado. Have you tried freezing avocado before? I’m little skeptical about it… would freezing it change the texture of avocado? Any thoughts on this?

i just made this recipe. so simple but SO amazing. i have a huge bag of flax seed meal in my fridge that i need to use so i threw in almost 1/2 c. of it. didn’t change the texture or taste much at all. added about 1/3 c more of coconut milk (instead of almond milk) just to make up for the thickness of the flax. i can see putting this in the cuisinart ice cream maker but i did the popsicle mold route this time. so sweet and filling. i plan to have one for breakfast!

YUM, what a clever idea! Thank you so much for coming up with yummy, simple, healthy, exciting things to eat. And I LOVE Crofter’s spreads, they are the BEST! The “Asia” Superfruit flavor tastes like pie filling to me, and I love the all-fruit blackberry and blueberry too. :)

Great Idea. I played around with banana soft serve last night and came up with an amazing WHEAT GRASS BANANA SOFT SERVE recipe. It tasted amazing and the nutritional benefits are unbelievable. Check it out: http://sweetsmartsexyvegan.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/what-to-do-with-all-my-wheat-grass/

My girls (6 and 4) and I just made these and they are AMAZING!!! We used our own homemade almond butter, frozen strawberries, almond milk, chia seeds, and unfrozen bananas. We made way more than our molds could hold so we drank the leftovers as smoothies ;)

I am going to try my version if these this weekend! Brilliant to try soft serve as a Popsicle! I know what it is like in regards to your blog, hang tight! It will be worth it. ;) thanks for a great recipe again and clever approach. :)

YUM!! Its amazing any of the batter made it into the popsicle mold! I could have eaten the whole bowl! Apparently I have gone far to long in life without having tried banana soft serve. I think I’m going to need a bigger food processor though as I almost burned out the motor on my baby one trying to chop up all the bananas.

okay, so i don’t know what happened, but I made the soft serve, tried my best not to eat it, and put what did survive into molds….but they wouldn’t come out of the molds once frozen.. :(
I even thawed them a bit but all that happened was that the sticks/handles slid out of them… again :( …but then!! i made it as a soft serve and what-do-you-know! AMAZING!! i heart you! so freeeeaaaakkkkin’ yummy! knock your socks off!! Im going to try it next with my flourless vegan peanut butter cookie dough (gasp) rolled into tiny balls and then swirl in some vegan soft caramel (oh lord)

You, my friend, are a genius. Ice cream was the one thing that i was having a hard time with…this is a lifesaver. And if you use not so ripe ones, you can even taste the ‘naner! and the consistency is amazing! Thank you so much for this recipe (and all of them of course, but this one….ohh you’ve outdone yourself)

I just combined this recipe with your green monster smoothie and made chocolate banana spinach soft serve. My 2 year old son LOVES this and uses chia seed as “sprinkles”. Hope you won’t mind that I shared this idea on my own blog:
http://foodforthoughtlinds.blogspot.ca/2012/08/the-healthiest-ice-cream-on-earth.html

Hi everyone. I’m catering for vegan family weekends this weekend. I enjoy the challenge and as it is a party, I would like it if what I made for them appealed to everybody else too. These look perfect! However, can you tell me before I start freezing millions of bananas, would this dessert still work if served in smart little ramekins? Is it the right sort of consistency to be eaten with a spoon? Thank you in advance for your help! Xx

is there a way to make the basic banana soft serve with a different fruit besides bananas? or does the texture just not turn out? i was looking at making your chia pudding with banana soft serve but was hoping to try a use a different flavor soft serve

Hi Alex, You can definitely try different frozen fruits and then sweeten them to taste with something like maple syrup. I have a couple really good soft serve recipes using different fruit in my next book!